Driving With My Prince Charming
by Effervescent Dreamer
Summary: For xStarfirexRobinxo's birthday. After reading a poem with a mysterious signature, Kori finds that even damsels like her can have Prince Charmings.


**Driving With My Prince Charming**

**Disclaimer: I don't Teen Titans nor do I own the song Over It. The song belongs to Annelise Van Der Pol. **

I dedicate this story to ma soeur xStarfirexRobinxo for her birthday. Hope it's an awesome one sis!!

* * *

Kori Anders slammed the door to her house and fled up the stairs only pausing briefly to say hello to her mother. Once safely enclosed in her room, she flopped onto her bed and screamed into her pillow; exerting all of her pent up fury. Today at school had been ugly. In AP Physics she had forgotten her term paper in her locker and wasn't allowed to go retrieve it therefore it cost her twenty points. As if she wasn't struggling enough in that class. In French class during test taking, Kori had accidentally dropped her help note card and as she came back up from retrieving it Caitlyn, her usual malicious self decided to call out to the teacher accusing Kori of cheating off of her. This of course resulted in her test being taken from her. Luckily the teacher knew Kori was an excellent student and of Caitlyn's conniving ways and offered Kori a second chance with the test.

"_But let's not forget gym and the fact that I got pelted with the dodge balls at least ten million times!"_ She thought sardonically as she rolled onto her back and stared blankly at the ceiling. Her peaceful realm of silence was quickly interrupted when she heard the door slam again; her father had come home. Although she was on the second floor and the sounds were faint; Kori could tell his voice was slurred. Her father was drunk. _"It must've been a bad day at the office," She mused silently. "Three…two…one…"_

The shouting ensued. Her parents' raised voices slithered under the opening in Kori's door. Her mother called her father a slovenly drunkard; her father accused her mother of being an unfaithful wife and mother. As their screaming escalated, Kori tried covering her ears with her pillow to block out the arguing. Little good that did her, the sounds were barely muffled. Kori couldn't take the arguing much longer. It broke her heart seeing her family fall apart at the seams. She wiped away the falling tear with the frayed sleeve of her worn out sweatshirt that had once belonged to her best friend Richard Grayson. He had given it to her earlier that week on an overcast day because he noticed her shivering.

"_Speaking of Richard…" _Kori rolled onto her side and opened her backpack. She pulled out her yearbook. _"I wonder if he signed it."_ As per tradition amongst her friends; their yearbooks would disappear for the day, getting passed around for signatures. Kori flipped over the thick leather-bound book to the pages designated for autographs. She immediately recognized Rachel's round and loopy handwriting, Gar's little comic strips—his own personal way of conveying his messages. There was Jen's flowery script and Vic's bold lettering. She also saw Wally's hurried scrawl and Donna's neat, polished print. Even Roy's tiny handwriting was there in the form of a good-bye message. Yet Richard's handwriting was nowhere to be found.

Kori remained undeterred. _"Well the boy does like to have fun with us by changing his writing_ _styles every so often." _She plowed on, flipping through every crisp, pristine white page that remained for autographs. There was no sign of Richard's signature. Feeling slightly deflated, Kori read the signatures from other classmates and teachers. She didn't truly pay attention until she came across a poem written neatly on the last page. It read:

_Today my angel vanished. _

_She was replaced by a stranger. _

_This stranger did not fly with the airy grace my angel has._

_This one walked as if she were forever bound to the earth,_

_Never to be free like my angel._

_This pretender does not have the gleaming smile my angel has._

_She doesn't even smile, this stranger who replaced my angel._

_Her hair was lank and faded, lacking the vibrancy of my angel's hair._

_But what was the saddest part of this fallen angel were her eyes._

_Emeralds that were dull; green pools of pure sadness. _

_It's quite easy for one to drown himself in them. _

_I should know. I have. _

_Today my angel vanished._

_She was replaced by a stranger._

The poem was signed, Your PC. Well whoever this "PC" was, he (Kori hoped that it was a he) most certainly had noticed Kori's distress today. She reread the poem, _"Was I that obvious today?"_ Kori frowned thoughtfully, trying to decipher "PC". Did it stand for pie and cake? She didn't think so. Pythons and Vipers? That sounded like a code a biker would use and Kori was pretty sure that a biker who could write poetry this well was a rare find. Kori looked closer at the signature. There was no "and". The only term Kori could come up with off the top of her head was personal computer and she highly doubted that was the answer.

Determined to discover the identity to her mysterious poet, Kori flipped through her yearbook scanning the faces of her classmates for clues. The first picture her eyes landed on was Richard's photo. His cerulean eyes seemed to pierce her own. Yet his signature smirk only irked her. _"Oh like you're any help!"_ She thought with a mental scowl as she stuck her tongue out at her best friend's picture. As Kori glared at the glossy page, a memory floated up from the dredges of her mind.

_Eleven-year-olds Kori and Jenny eyed Richard as he placed his textbooks in his locker and replaced them with his backpack. "Isn't he so cu-u-te?!" Jenny gushed. "Look at that thick black hair!" She continued in an excited whisper. "Not to mention I'm pretty sure you can get lost in those sapphire eyes of his!"_

"_I think they're cerulean," Kori whispered back to her friend. _

_Jenny eyed Kori with a mischievous gleam. "So you like?"_

_Rolling her eyes Kori changed the subject. "What's poor Wally going to think when he sees you go all gooey over another boy?" Blushing furiously, Jenny was about to retort that Wally was so not her boyfriend so he shouldn't have to worry about the new eye candy when the bell rang._

_Panicking, Kori hurried off to her next class, not even noticing Richard closing his locker and turning in her direction until she slammed into him in one second, and having him sprawled on top of her the next. Stunned into embarrassed silence; Kori just laid on the cold hall floor, eyes wide and mouth open. She barely even noticed the dull thudding pain at the back of her head. Richard's alarmed voice brought Kori out of her reverie. "I-I'm so sorry!" He exclaimed as he pulled Kori to her feet. "Are you all right? Are you in any pain?"_

"_Just a bump on the head, but it's no big deal," Kori reassured him as she stooped to pick up her fallen books._

"_I'm Richard Grayson, by the way," the boy murmured as he helped Kori retrieve her scattered books. _

"_Kori Anders," she shook his hand once she gathered her books._

"_Do you want me to walk you to the nurse?" He asked. "Just to make sure you don't have a concussion."_

_Kori smiled at him. "Trust me, I've suffered worse." Seeing the doubtful look in his eyes, she let out a small sigh before saying, "All right, lead the way."_

_As they began to walk to the nurse's office, a piece of crumpled up paper was thrown Kori's way. Catching it deftly, Kori opened it. In Jenny's script it read: He's cute and so kind! You've found the physical embodiment of Prince Charming!_

* * *

"_My Prince Charming huh?"_ Seconds later Kori face-palmed herself. _"He must've read the note over my shoulder! Not to mention that he's remembered it all these years later!"_

Forcing herself to get over the slight awkwardness of the situation by laughing it off, Kori flipped back to Richard's poem and read it once more. She reveled in the sweetness of it. Unfortunately, her peace was cut short by a loud crash followed by the front door opening and slamming shut twice. Kori rolled her eyes and groaned, "Way to go Dad." Seconds later Kori heard two consecutive engines roaring to life and knew her parents were driving to separate destinations to cool down.

Sighing Kori got up and opened the door to her balcony, picking up her acoustic guitar as she stepped out. Seating herself on the railing, Kori strummed her guitar and began to sing:

_How could you know_

_That behind my eyes a sad girl cried_

_And how could you know_

_That I hurt so much inside_

_And how could you know _

_That I'm not the average girl_

_I'm carrying the weight of the world_

_Yeah!_

_So can you get me out of here_

_Take me away_

_We'll jump in the car_

_Drive 'til the gas runs out and then walk so far _

_Then we can't_

_See this place anymore_

_Take a day off_

_Give it a rest_

_So I can forget about this mess_

_If I lighten up a little bit,_

_Then I will be_

_Over It_

_I'm playin' the role_

_Of the happy girl_

_But no one knows_

_Inside I'm alone_

_But I would never let it show_

_I get everyday_

_Too much work and not enough play _

_Over and over_

_It's always the same_

_Yeah!_

_But you can make everything okay..._

_Take me away_

_We'll jump in the car_

_Drive 'til the gas runs out and then walk so far _

_That we can't_

_See this place anymore_

_Take a day off_

_Give it a rest_

_So I can forget about this mess_

_If I lighten up a little bit,_

_Then I will be_

_Over It_

_Over it_

_And when the world is closin' in_

_I can leave it all and just walk away_

_I can always start all over again_

_I am closer to a better day _

_Take me away_

_We'll jump in the car_

_Drive 'til the gas runs out and then walk so far _

_That we can't_

_See this place anymore_

_Take a day off_

_Give it a rest_

_So I can forget about this mess_

_If I lighten up a little bit,_

_Then I will be over it_

_Take Me Away_

_We'll jump in the car_

_Drive 'til the gas runs out and then walk so far _

_That we can't_

_See this place anymore_

_Take a day off_

_Give it a rest_

_So I can forget about this mess_

_If I lighten up a little bit,_

_Then I will be_

_If I lighten up a little bit,_

_Then I will be_

_Over It..._

_Over It..._

_I am over it…_

As Kori strummed the final note, a sense of inner-peace washed over her and she smiled a genuine smile for the first time that day. Little did she know that someone had been watching and listening, happy that his angel came back.

* * *

At two o'clock on Saturday afternoon, while Kori was immersed in her copy of Breaking Dawn, the doorbell rang, its sound resonating throughout the house. "I'll get it!" Kori called as she miraculously managed to tear herself away from the riveting novel and bookmark it. Her eyes widened in surprise when she opened the door. "Richard! What are you doing here?"

"What? I can't visit my best friend on a beautiful Saturday like this?" Was his casual reply.

Kori blushed lightly. "No, you can. What's up?"

Richard shrugged nonchalantly, sticking his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "I just figured we could go for a drive; see where the road takes us."

Kori smiled. "All right. Just let me tell my mom." She stuck her head in and told her mother she would be out for a while to which her mother replied:

"Be sure to bring a jacket. The temperature is supposed to drop later on."

Kori re-emerged, slipping on her denim jacket. Richard had a look of mock hurt on his face.

"What, you're not going to wear my sweatshirt?"

Kori chuckled. "I can't. Mom grabbed it and put it in the wash before I could get to it."

"It's alright," Richard replied as the two got into Richard's silver convertible with the top down.

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Kori began as she buckled her seatbelt. "Thank-you for that beautiful poem."

Her best friend smiled warmly. "You're welcome."

As the engine roared to life, Kori's eyes wandered over to the gas meter. The tank was full. _"No way. He couldn't have possible heard me."_ Putting her suspicions aside, Kori began to engage in a conversation with Richard that went on for a few hours. When she noticed the large black sign in silver lettering that read: **You are now leaving Gotham**; Kori knew that Richard had listened to her song. Moments after the two had left Gotham, Richard's car began to splutter. The gas meter was on empty; prompting Kori to burst out laughing.

Richard didn't say anything. He merely pulled over, got out of the car and went to over to the passenger's side to help out Kori whose shoulder-shaking chuckles had faded to silent giggles. As he offered his hand to her, he asked, "Ready to keep going?"

"Not yet."

Seeing his confusion, Kori placed her hand at the back of his head and pulled him to her for a passionate kiss. After they broke away, Kori sinking comfortably into Richard's grasp murmured, "Now I am ready."

Grinning, Richard interlocked his fingers with Kori's outstretched ones and together the pair began to walk farther away from Gotham.

* * *

Annnnnnnnnnnnd I'm done! Hope you enjoyed this xStarfirexRobinxo!

I don't own Breaking Dawn which is part of the Twilight series; however I do own that poem that was "written" by Richard.

To any and all readers please review and be kind to wish ma soeur a joyous day of birth!


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